Please

handle this volume

with care.
The

University of Connecticut
Libraries, Storrs

NC 915 .A3SAS
art, stx(

Airbrush

!|153

1948

techniques.

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http://archive.org/details/airbrushtechniquOOalle

AIRBRU O
TECHNIQUES
J

ZELLERS

ALLEN

^ GRAPHICRAFT PUBLICATION

BOB STACK

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GRAPHICRAFT P

GRAPHICRAFT PUBLICATIONS
^Tetnd&U 20, Michigan,

kt

Zellers Allen, Director, The Allen Airbrush

Institute, Detroit, internationally recognized
authority in the field of Airbrush Technique.

J.

In addition to countless advertising illustrations and retouchings appearing in the nations

magazines, Mr. Allen's work has appeared in
the catalogs of the three major manufacturers
of artists airbrushes: Paasche, Wold and
Thayer & Chandler, all of whom recommend his

instructional methods.
The Allen Airbrush Institute represents the
culmination of years of experience at advertising art, designing, and instructing, during
which it was Mr. Allen's privilege to direct
the institution of and instruct in the first
continuous school instructing in the use of the

Airbrush

His association with The Institute of Design,

Chicago, served to emphasize an inherent

belief in the necessity of a more complete
integration of Art and Living, -a correlation
of Aesthetics and Economics.
approach to the various problems
of art has characterized Mr. Allen's many
published articles and lectures. His teaching
career has been distinguished principally by a
determination to clarify the technical approach
to graphic presentation to the extent that the
creative impulse may be more completely reA 'practical'

alized.

A Dutch
Uutc

friend assures me that for some time after

acquiring a working knowledge of English he continued
to THINK in his native tongue, and effected a running
translation into English. A practicing artist who
takes up the airbrush reminds me very much of my
Dutch friend: he continues to think in terms of more
familiar media and translates into airbrush.

This approach will never result in anything of importance or value.

In fact, it is directly respon-.
sible for a hybrid product that is more injurious
to a general appreciation of the airbrush than any
other one thing.
A rank beginner at art, upon being given an airbrush
and plenty of time to experiment with it, is more
likely to arrive at a satisfactory technique than the
accomplished artist whose creutive impulse is constrained to follow habitual thought patterns.

To create with the airbrush it is necessar/ to THINK

in terms of airbrush.
To 'think airbrush' it is
necessary to be aware of the many ways in which the
airbrush may be used
indeed, it is necessary to
be more than aware of them, you must be familiar with
them.

Do not expect to find the possibilities exhausted

this slender volume.
It would be impossible.
is hoped that the examples presented here will
stimulate experimentation on the part of the reader,
and if it does that it will have served its purpose.
in
It

It should be understood that while this book is

directed at the person who owns an airbrush and has
mastered the rudiments of its operation, it can be
extremely helpful to one who has recently acquired a
The instruction
brush, or contemplates buying one.
sheet enclosed with each new brush, and this volume,

should put the beginner well along the road to accomp

is

hme n t

will be noticed that specific recommendations as

This is intentional.
to equipment have been avoided.
The three major manufacturers of airbrushes all proIt

duce

dependable brush.

It has been the privilege of the author to have

worked for, and with the products of all three of
them: Wold, Paasche, and Thayer & Chandler, which

should give some authority to the assertion that the

excellence of your airbrush work will depend on your
ability exclusively, and not on which brush you buy.

may be of interest to the reader to know that

'AIRBRUSH TECHNIQUES' is the first of what is to be
a series of small,
moderately priced volumes, each
dealing with a single phase of airbrush application.
It

CHANDL**
THAVEB *

"

'

air

in iP'brush. Next

^^^^^jush(and

h .n7 *

*udent

9h

r*W in d in "",C

P
c

with the air

build, tones

sig
designer, the

H- ^

gim ple ana

^ran^^!!___

process.
repeat the

On.

^^

is

"t dtke

not until

Aifer mastering the controlled line, and the casting of tints and blends, the student is ready to start work
on an actual job. It is best to subdue the natural desire to do "something big" until the simple geometric shapes
have been completely mastered. As the geometric shapes are basic, mastering their reproduction from various
points of view will be a firm foundation upon which to build future air brush work. Particularly will this be true
in the retouching of

photographs.

have noticed as you thumbed

through the pages that follow this one
that much of the work depended upon
using a knife with some dexterity. As
a matter of fact,
the two most prevalent causes of poor airbrush work are
unskillful knife work, and hurrying.
You will

This being the case, it's a neat trick

to spot up your cuttin'
technique and
give it a thorough examination.
I

thing of first importance in this

examination is, somewhat naturally,
the knife itself.
Is your knife the
proper shape, with the blade at th e

ending struggle between Allen and

a
stubborn piece of carborundum, with the
blade always winning!
The illustration above shows a very good
example of what I consider the best possible knife.
The blade is a safety razor
blade.
Can you sharpen any of your stencil knives to the sharpness of a safety
razor bl ade
even one that you've used?
If you can, you should have stopped reading
several paragraphs back, too, Gunga Din!
.

The

proper angle? Can you sharpen it easily

and quickly
wi t h it?

Do you get plenty of practice

If the answer to all these questions is

'yes', pass up the rest of this articleyour knife work should be okay.
If the
answer is 'no', keep readin'.

Let me preface my description of the ideal

knife by telling you that I've bought
at least one of every kind of frisket,
mat, stencil, and hobby knife that's
ever hit the art, dime, novelty, photographic, or hardware stores, and with only
one exception they were all a complete
failure, and I knew it.
Those last four
words are important.
I've met people who

used knives long and laboriously and

didn't know they were using a poor substitute for a good knife!
A knife is not a chisel, and to use one
that looks and must be handled like a
chisel is ridiculous. A knife, for accurate cutting, must be pulled, not
pushed.
It must be sharp.
Most of the
knives I've purchased were. ..at least,
they were for the first few minutes I
used them.
After that it was a never

It's a good wager, however, that most

people will admit to the s am e feeling

of frustration that I feel when faced with

a dull blade and a rock.
Fven if you're
good at the hone and whet business, there's
I can grab the
still the time involved.
pincers and nip an eighth of an inch off
the end of a razor blade while you're finding the hone.
And, incidently, that's
just how simple and e asy it is to sharpen
a knife like this. ...just nipping off a
bit with the pincers.
A knife with the blade at

the angle shown

above 'follows'.
You can pull it more
accurately with one finger than you can
guide any other kind of knife with your

whole hand.
Various kinds of blades may be used in a
knife like this.
For general work the
single edge variety is most valuable, but
even the very thin double-edge blades may
be used.
Their resilient quality makes
them particularly useful in cutting very
thin sheet celluloid or frisket paper.
You can literally 'bend' them around a
cur v

Spend a little time thinking about you t

knife technique.
It can very definitely
influence your ability as an airbrush
art

i s t

To mask an a rea. means to protect

the piemen* from hitting it.

it

with something to keep

Cne of the most generally useful materials is sco'ch tape.

in its many forms
If ycu are not familiar with scotch tape
as!< your dealer to she' you what he has in stock.

Another

This is
indispensable material is frisket paper.
waxed
a thin,
paper that is stuck to the job
non-porous,
It is properly prepared hy giving it
with rubber cement.
several coats of thin frisket cement, allowing it to "dry"
between coats.

Actually, the value of rubber cement" for this usp

i;
the fact that it d es not dry.
It "sets" so +hat when
touched it feels tacky yet does not come away on your
That is the way to test frisket to determine
finders.
it
is ready for use.
1

in

if

For use on high or glossy surfaces one coat of cement is

usually sufficient.
For rough illustration boards and
papers three or four coats may be needed.

After it is prepared, pieces of the required size

are cut from it, laid on the job, and rubbed down
Rub it out from the center using firm strokes,
yet not hard enough to stretch the paper.
A
few
tries will enable you to "lay" a piece of frisket

without wrinkles.
Cutting consists literally of cutting around and
removing the frisket from the area that is to be
airbrushed.
If the
rubber cement was too thick,
or if the knife used was not sharp, small "beads"
of rubber cement may form around the p d g e of the
cut. These may be removed by rubbing + h e m with
your finger.
Try

not to cut +00 deeply into the photo or illustration hoard. Practice will help you develop
a
rpaiiy astounding ability to cut the frisket
without cutting + h e job. And a sharp, thin blade
in your knife will
'<pep slight cuts in + o your sur
facf from bpjng too objectionable.

Any masking material that is stuck to your board should be removed

If left too long, almost any of them will
as soon as possible.
Never, under
bring some of the paper surface with it when removed.
any circumstances, leave Scotch Tape or frisket on a job overnight
Plan your work so that it will be unnecessary.

Remove frisket and tape slowly from a job

bring some of the surface along, too.

Jerking it off will

The 'dry frisket' or stencil may be anything from an uncemented

About the most valuable stencil
piece of tissue to your hand.
material is celluloid or similiar sheet plastic because of its
transparency. Due to this feature all of the individual stencils
of a set consisting of several pieces may be cut from one master
sketch.
This is a valuable aid in obtaining registration.
Sheet plastic need not be cut through.
It may be scored or scratched deeply with a knife or point and then cracked out by bending
the cut in both directions.
Thus, almost perfect circles may be
'cut' with dividers.
Should any rough edges result from this
method they are easily taken care of by sanding or scraping the
reverse side of the cut with your knife.
This is unlikely to happen, however, unless you use exceptionally heavy material, or something with an emulsion or other coating, such as photographic
film etc.
Most waxed stencil papers and boards are anything but satisfactory.
Their opacity in most cases requires that any design to be cut
must be traced upon its surface, thereby adding to the difficulty
of obtaining registration in a stencil of several parts, and the
wax or oil used in their manufacture will sometimes cause your
working surface to become water repellent in spots.
If you can avoid it, never buy stencil material of any kind from a
roll.
It is enough to maintain contact between flat stencil material

and your working surface without having to struggle with

There are a number of ways to hold a stencil in
place while it is being airbrushed.
Holding with
the free hand is the most common and useful method.
However, there are times when a third or fourth hand
would be very useful. A trick that does not seem to
be very well known, and that will sometimes take the
place of those extra hands, is to cut a hole through
a portion of the stencil that is large enough to permit it and cover the hole with a slightly larger
piece of scotch tape.
Thus, it will stick to the
top side of the stencil sealing the hole and preventing the passage of color, and to the working surface
through the hole.
This is particularly helpful wi th
centers that would otherwise drop out, or with long
almost severed fingers of stencil.
#

*t4~*#*

W*BB**J*M

'curl'

V
J

This photograph demonstrates a basic stencil

principle. Perfect contact between the mask
and the receiving surface results in a sharp
definite line; Raising the mask off the receiving surface and airbrushing along its
edge results in a soft edge.
The softness
of the edge can,
to a great extent, be controlled by the distance between the mask and
the surface.
light cardA piece of paper,
board, or celluloid held in the manner shown
with one end in contact, and the other raised,
when airbrushed, will result in a sharp t o
soft line or edge that can be very helpfuL
This technique is particularly applicable to
the rendering of cast shadows. A shadow cast
from any object by an unfocused light source
Put
has just this sharp to soft character.
your pencil point against a piece of
paper
and examine the shadow.

>

50

COOOOCS3

15

A NOTE ON

MOIST WATER COLOR HANDLING

V
leave moist water color exposed to collect
dust and then expect it to flow properly through
Tube colors of a standard brand
your airbrush.
and good quality are the most practical water colors
for airbrush use because no more need be exposed
to dust and hardening than is required for use at

Never

single sitting.

The pigment itself can impede or prevent the proper

flow of color from your airbrush unless it is tho-

roughly mixed.
There is a very definite method to thinning tube
Squeeze a small quantity
colors for airbrush use:
of color from the tube into a clean mixing dish.
Six or seven
Place several drops of water on it.
drops will be sufficient for half an inch of color
as it comes from the tube.
Mix the pigment and
water very thoroughly.
Add a few more drops of
water and continue to mix, and so on, until you
have a definitely liquid mixture.

demonstrate the logic of this proceedure, let

suppose that you place half an inch of lampblack
in the dish and cover it with as much water as you
will eventually need to thin it to the proper
working consistency, and you begin to stir. About
twice around the dish with your bristle brush and
enough of the color has been released from the pigment to color the water to such opacity that you
cannot see whether or not you have broken up the
entire glob of color.
Then, when you start to use
it in your airbrush,
if you have missed several
small blobs of pigment, they can, and probably will,
put your airbrush out of use long ehough for you to
To
us

do

very thorough cleaning job on it.

Always use a btistle brush of good quality for an

airbrush filling, mixing, and cleaning brush.
The
saving involved in using a cheap brush is lost in
the time it will take to locate one lost bristle
in the mechanism of your airbrush.

>- A

Unlike other art processes, the airbrush applies pigment to a surface

without any actual contact between the tool and the surface. As a
consequence of this, it is possible to use the airbrush on surfaces
that would not be practical for other methods of pigment application.
Roughness, or abrasive qualities that would prohibit the use of a
bristle brush would not greatly influence the results produced with
airbrush.
While almost any surface may be used for airbrush, there are factors
involved that recommend certain materials for specific purposes . A
"high" or super calendered surface, for instance, while excellent for
receiving fine detail ani to reproduce from, is very suceptible to
surface damage, and any change in the surface of such stock will be
emphasized by airb rushing. Even a fingerprint which you could not
see on the unpainted surface will be brought out by the application
of airbrushed pigment.
Due to this it is more practical to use one
of the finer tooth illustration boards or papers for fine cfextail rather
than a really high surface stock.
In the other direction, the quite rough surfaces, while aesthetically
satisfying, are not the best choice for finely airbrushed detail,
particularly detail of a "hard" or mechanical nature. However, although it would not be satisfactory for a stainless steel lawnmower,
it is preferable for portraits or other "soft" subject matter in free

hand airbrush.
Probably the most generally useful surface will be found in the "medium"
boards and papers such as, Whatman's Hot Pressed, Strathmore Regular,
Crescent No. 300, or similiar surfaces.
One thing that the airbrush user must demand in an illustration board
is that it be of such quality, and hard enough, to permit the use of
scotch tapes, frisket, ani other masking materials without sustaining
Nothing can be more irritating than the laborous task of
damage.
having to repair and burnish a spot, in an otherwise satisfactory rendering, where the surface has been 1 if ted by the removal of a bit of
scotch tape. In general, the higher the rag content of a board, the
less likely it is to pick up with tape or frisket.
Obviously, in the
selection of papers and boards for airbrush use is no spot to exercise
a too stringent economy. The best, to use a bromide, is none too good!
In those instances where the airbrush is to be used in combination with
other media, it is safe to let the other medium determine the surface.

You will have noticed that this book is printed on a laid finish stock
similiar to charcoal paper. In any case permitting the use of a
lightweight stock, charcoal paper may be used for airbrush. It is extremely useful and pleasing when a tinted stock is indicated because
of the wide and subtle range of colors and tints obtainable.

CIRCLE

aTi

It is possible that the circle stencil, than which nothing could be

easier to make and use, is exceeded
in value only by the straight edge.

A set of circle stencils is practically a necessity to the airbrush

user, and requires little effort to

make if sheet ce lluloid and a pair

Circles of the
of dividers are used.
'scratched*
be
may
required size
deeply in the plastic with a point
of the dividers and the centers
'cracked' out almost perfectly. If
any rough edges should remain, they
can be smoothed out with a piece of
fine sandpaper rolled into a cyl-

inder.
The simplest possible rendition,
of course, is the flat spraying of
Next would be 'burning'
the area.
the edge, as in the illustration
left below.

Rounding up a sphere makes something

of a point about airbrush:
There
isn't another method of doing it
that even approaches the ease with
which it can be done in this medium.
In the preparation of circle stencils always preserve the centers, too,
because they are as important as the
You will notice that
outside piece.
in the renditions on the opposite
page, the center or 'positive' part
of the stencil was of as much value
as the outside or 'negative* stencil

The same methods used with the

circle stencil will give some very
remarkable results when used with
elipses, or any other simple shape.
Irregular curves are especially valuable in rendering the black line
scroll, or spencerian effect.

TOfn PApEr

Arrows /
Don't sell the lowly arrow
short!
This little device,
when done with the airbrush,
is capable of so many variations that its uses are almost
limi t less

Never destroy an arrow stencil.

File it!
You never know when you
may need just that style and size
a

gain.

A good way to file this sort of

thing is to airbrush it on the
front of a file folder and file
By simit in your 'morgue'.
ply glancing at the front of
the folder you can tell whether or not there is some-

-r
yj^f--

wouldn't know what

to call this,

but it's

highly effective ip

full

,_^^tt.!

^^

w*

^y,,

....

""

Trying to exhaust the

possibilities of even
a

simple edge like the

scallop shown at the

left is practically a

"V
<^r

color.

c a r e e r

*^

*&

^w*

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**$**

The almost solid dark

areas show the shape
of the mask, negative
and positive, used to
do all the renditions
on this page. ...And
it would be possible
to fill many more pages

with additional variations on this same

design.

All those on
the top notebook page
were done with the posThe
itive mask alone.
one immediately above
the mask pattern was
done with the negative
The two below
mask.
the pattern were rendered with the aid of

both

masks.

Any number of variations are possible on

this same theme:

The

saw-tooth edge in any

number of different
rhythms, combinations
of sawtooth and scallop, even piercing the

edge in some
as shown at the

manner
top of

the bottom notebook

page to the right.

Combinations of two
or more designs are
sometimes very attracti v e

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'

There are dozens of uses for these things, and you can't
know how much fun they are, nor what a challenge to your'
ingenuity until you try them.

Almost anything will do for a starter in designing Snow

Flakes, a compass, a set of elipses, a french curve, or]
what have you? The solids on this page are straight silhouette renditions of the stencils used for doing the designs across the gutter to the left, located in about the
same relative position on the page.

You might even unlimber that stencil knife and use these..

The rendering of them requires no less ingenuity than?

their designing.
Actually more, because of the varietyjj
of results that can be gotten with
a

single stencil,

or

combination of two or more stencils.

$

Most of those opposite are fairly simple in rendition

The possibilities become more apparent in the one in the
upper left corner, which is a combination of the two designs at the top of this page, and the one lower leftjf
which makes use of shifting the same stencil for a second
a i rbrus h ing
Add color

cinating,
a

this process and it become* fasAnd I can't think of

believe me.

to

better way to study the effecta of color mix-

ing than to exper intent with super impoa ing varioua

tints and blenda of basic hues in the product ion

of

theae simple dea i gna

These things can be an important step in learning

to

'THINK AIRBRUSH'

1*

ALLOVER

Allover design is uncoubtedly one of the most interesting projects possible with the airbrush, and one of the most informative, because of the use that must be made of masking
materials. You will also learn something about color and what may be expected of it when
used in the airbrush.

iiumii

As a rule, the nature and

size of the unit of design will determine the

division of

th<

You may already have

recognized the block of
'copy' from the page
dealing with LAYOUT TYPE
in the design at the left.

A letter *L' from

ly large set of

fair-

Roman

letters was responsible

for

the

area below.

'Skyline' was prepared

especially for the design
on the next page jus t,
to show the possibilities
of almost any type of

The polka dot design be-

low it was done with

part of a monogram stencil for the letters JZA
in Trafton type.
The
dots were supplied by
an ordinary paper punch.

Y'see, almost any darn

thing will do, if you
use

it

right.

Simple material not

too many elements will
give the best results.

Actually these tumpiti do very

llttlt to chow the possibilities
of alleve, design with the a
brush.

Imaflnt the rtsultc of these

sane stencils in various colors,

Airbrushing various values of

c#lor one over another, results
adm xt u re of the
n an opt ca
if you airbrush
Thus
two.yellow over blue y cu will get
a green.
Blue over yeilow produces a different green than
yellow over blue, and the particular green obtained will be
i

further controlled by the

amounts of blue and yellow u*ed.

resulting from this method

I'eans a bit in
method usually
The hue

the Direction of the

col o

'top'

Completely transparent colors

are likely to give the best
results
- or a
combination of
transparent and opaque

Remember that even the most

opaque pigments may be applied
transparently with the airbrush.

glance at some ,if the textiles

being offer e a for sale at any
yard goods counter will prove
that really good surface design
of this natofe is sorely needeoo
A

These effects fall somewhere between Allover

Design and Texture
The same method can be
used for either purpose,,
Paper clips,
a french curve, a handfull of thumbtacks, and
a dime store roll of wire solder were responsible for these
.

Oil if Cjl

In view of the foregoing it is obvious

that we need to be concerned with the

Explore the possibilities of using

two colors for this.
Holding th e

methods and materials whereby it is

possible to distinguish between the
white sidewalls of a tire and the

brush as low as the cup and hose will

allow, spray across the grain in one
direction with one color, then use
the other for airbrushing across the

white leather upholstery inside the

car.

grain in the opposite direction.

The round areas on these two pages are
good examples of one of the easiest
ways of creating texture with the airbrush.
Perhaps creating is not exactly the proper word to use in this case,
because it is actually a method of
emphasizing texture that has already
be en

created.

These effects were obtained by airbrushing across the grain of papers

having an embossed design.
Papers
of this type are produced by a number
of companys for an even greater number
of purposes.
Small scraps of unusual

however obtained, should be

filed until needed.

design,

Cloth,

papers,

leatherette

or even

illustration board will give very

pleasing results. The area at the top
of the

water

left page

is

Whatman's Pough

color paper.

While this technique can be turned to

account, as it were, it is really
using something that, unless controlled,
is a blasted nuisance to airbrush users.
To avoid emphasizing the grain
of
paper or illustration board in regular
airbrush work, hold the airbrush as
nearly perpendicular to the receiving
surface as possible.

Somewhat in the same manner as the examples

on the preceeding two page*, theae two items
take full advantage of previously created texIn this instance, however
ture.
it is printed
instead of embossed.
,

Textures must be chosen carefully, and you'll

find that large and de f in ite patterns will not
lend themselves to this t r eat ment as readily
as

Fu

trick is extremely simple: a piece

of
paper with a printed texture approximating that
of the object you are about to render is used
for the rendering.
Upon comp le t ion it is cut
out carefully with the stencil knife and mountTh e

ed on

i 1

lust rat ion board.

smaller and more subtle designs.

1 1

color will give striking results if the

enough in value to per-

print chosen is light

mit its use.

The memori a 1 sug ges t ion above was rendered with

black and white on a piece of stock of the type
The book was
used for photo mounts and folders.

done on a piece of linen textured cover stock.

Naturally,

this

technique is of limited value.

Gift wrapping papers are an exce 1 lent source of

ed textures. Special effects, leather,

marble, cork, wood grains, etc., may be obtain-

pr int

ed

from almost any paper house.

a Slick trick
for carclwriteiS
This stylized and decorative
little face on the left is literally the result of cutting up
a photograph!
The hair, eye and
eyebrow, lips, and the small dark
lines at the neck were cut out
Then the photograph was
first.
used as a stencil and the areas
airbrushed. The large dark areas
at the collar came next, and the
shadows for the ear. More airbrushing. You see, the stencil
was airbrushed as it was cut.
The last areas to be cut and render-

ed were the shoulders and the

face.
Notice that the face was
not given a flat tint,
it
was
modeled a bit.

The pieces of the same photograph were used to do this modern

vers ion.
This method of rendering the stencil piece by piece as it is cut
can be a time saver of real importance at times. Give it a try,
It
and don't limit it to faces.
will work with many types of subject

matter.

A "telling" touch can sometimes

be added with the regular brush, as
the dark band at the nose andat
the back of the head.

Layout

MASK
STENC/L

for

LAYOUT TYPE

The above are display

type sizes.
It's a good
idea, however, to
pick up a type handbook
of some kind for

really authentic

information. There's a
lot to knew about type and
Its proper use.

and PICTURES

This
the

is one of the many ways in which

layout man can make very practical

A series of stencils
use of the airbrush.
of the various type sizes used regularly
will save much more than the time required
to prepare them, and will result in
a much neater job of type indication.

Use actual blocks of copy in the size

and spacing needed as guides in cutting
'layout type'
and cut the blocks somewhat larger than usually needed.
Limiting the amount of type indicated is very
easily done by using a right angle mask
as shown in the diagram.
,

Type 'color' in layout work is absolutely controlled with this method.

The method of indicating photographs
used on this page can also be a very
useful trick.
There are times when indicating a photograph is in order and
you don't know exactly what the subject
matter will be.
The top one of these
three was done with torn. and crumpled
paper; the center one with odds and ends
from my tab; and the third freehand.

Those things that might be mistaken for

tree branches were made by blowing drops
of liquid color across the opening in
the rectangular mask with the air from

the airbrush.

mmm

1.

The two screws above are relatively unimportant

as subject matter, unless you happen to be in
the hardware business. They are shown more to
demonstrate a method than for any other purpose.
To one unfamiliar with stencil airbrush method
it seems Inconceivable that such results can be
obtained with a few holes in celluloid.
If you haven't tried anything of this sort,
Slap a piece of celluloid of the right thickness over the solid black impressions down the
right of this page and cut yourself a set of
stencils that will be a pleasure to render..

Incidently, it won't be necessary to cut the one

numbered 2. It's the nine bottom holes of number
1. turned upside down!

A Good
This is

Example

good example of airbrushed layout.

It's a cut of the layout for the Wold Airbrush Catalog Cover.
Everything in it was airbrushed except the script lettering.

Although this layout was done on thin "layout paper", it is

much better to do airbrushed layouts on something heavier.
The moisture causes thin paper to wrinkle.
Two ply is ideal
for the purpose.
Being somewhat in doubt as to the exact location for the large
letters spelling WOLD and the airbrush, they were rendered on
one ply, cut out and, when their proper location was determined
by shifting them about, mounted into place.
This cutting out
a unit and shifting it about can be a very handy trick at times.
You might find it interesting to know that all the floating
pages were rendered with the same intensity and contrast, then
the lower ones were 'pushed' or subdued by fogging over them
with black.
In the final art work the airbrush was moved forward so that
it would not extend into the back cover as it is shown here.
If you have a Wold catalog handy a comparison will reveal

other slight changes.

The original of this, 0 inches in height and in fill

color, is in the permanent airoainting exhibit of the

Paasche Airbrush Company,

Chicago,

111.

NTUPRUATION
NTIRPRUATION
RPRXTATION

Art
\$4 vjiO

MAPS
This is the negative stencil

When a stencil is properly cut the result is

really two stencils, or a set, negative, and
Using both pieces, all of these effects,
positive.
'Burning the edge* of the
and more, are possible.
negative stencil gives the result illustrated in 2.
3 is the result of the same handling with the positive
stencil.
In doing 4 the p-gative stencil (0) was taped down,
the positive (1) was fitted into it, then offset just enough in each directi on to
5 is a double rendering of the negative stencil.
airbrush the line.
6 requ ires
the use of both the negative and positive, and so does 7.
Cut

stencil like this and see how many additional interpretations you can work out.

li

HHilP jBBfltii

There are so many recognized

symbols for so many different
purposes that to attempt to
list them would be ridiculous.
Some, however, like those shown
here: flags, stars, factories,
cities, and the map compass are
of such constant use that it is
advisable to have them on file.

This is the type of thing that

can be prepared ahead of time for
use whenever needed.
To get the same effect shown here
with the star you'll have to save
both the negative and positive
stencil.

Only one stencil is needed for

The same stencil
the compass.
reversed may be used for the
gray portion after blocking the
letter N. The others, factory,
city, and flag, are rendered in
seperate impressions, and then
incombinatlon to show the method.
This stenciling of symbols can be
indlspensible in those instances
where small figures of people are
used to represent percentages in
charts, --you know, those things
where one housewife represents
several million housewifes, and
where one farmer and half of another
represents a million and a half
All you need do is cut
farmers.
one figure and repeat it as often
as needed in the rendering.

f*

LETTERING
Airbrushed

The stenciled letter as produced by various cutting machines in somewhat

is a horrible thing.
Which may
general use for shipping purposes, etc
or may not have something to do with the fact that most airbrush users do
not even consider the possibilities of stenciling letters
,

It

is.,

however

>

a very practical method of doing lettering.

Certain letter styles lend themselves readily to stencil interpretation;

This should be taken into
others are not so amenable to this treatment
consideration in planning a job where the lettering is to be done with
this method.
The preparation of alphabets for lettering purposes is not particularly
Sheet celluloid or
hard, and is excellent practice at using the knife
acetate should be used., JThe frosted one side is particularly good because a guide line for the bottoms of the letters xaay be penciled on the
can be utilized
frosted side
Any clearly printed alphabet large enough
for cutting letter stencils by laying this material over it and cutting the
letters that show through
,

As a rule the letters of a printed alphabet are printed too close together
to allow airbrush ing one without "fogging" through those on either side.
But., since it will be impossible to get the entire alphabet on one piece of
material of a manageable siz* anyway, this is neatly solved by skipping
every other letter-, catching the ones skipped on the second piece
Lore
space usually needsto be left between the lines of lettering* also, for the
same reason

connect or s 5 which shout STENCIL and spoil most stenciled letters, need
be as objectionable as they usually are
They are usually too large
too numerous
Notice the small upper case "R" next to the large R in
upper left corner of the block opposite
One connector serves to hold
center as compared with three in the large "R", and two in "R" in the
heading.

The
not
and
the
the

?)

In the word "Rush"' another upper case "R" is handled in a still different
manner with one connector
Notice that you aren't aware of connectors at all
in "Rush-"
Informal script of this type lends itself very easily to
stenciling,

Even the more formal scripts like "Van Heusen" may be handled without too
much trouble simply by letting the thin parts of each letter fade out entirely here and there where connectors are needed. Also works with most
Roman letters.
Connectors can actually be a decorative feature of the stenciled letter. The
method used in the heading gives a feeling of solidity & structural quality.
In the small "photo" two different methods of connecting the center of the
"0" are shown
Although complicated and of limited use, Text letters are almost ideal for
stenciling
Some of the more obvious airbrush letter handlings have been deliberately
omitted here because of their familiarity
Headings throughout the book
have in most cases been stenciled.
.

LcfTTEr^G Wri
zXxMAnisjIcou
W1>fHDd3CD|-V

NOP ^STUVWX
YZc-i oc -c
1

fj hij<

Another approach to lettering with the airbrush is the "letter

The alphabet is composed of comparativelyelement" approach.
few elements, or strokes, sometimes as few as a dozen, and while
it is seldom advisable to reduce an alphabet to these few basic
lines, this approach does lead to simplification that can be
a great time saver.
For instance, notice that in the upper and lower case letters
above the same upright serves for the B D and K, and that
the lower case c is needed to complete the g.

This may not be possible with some alphabets, but it will work
with most Gothic sans serif alphabets.

Examine the above impressions carefully. Better yet, cut

copies of them and experiment with combining the various
elements into letters.

he

Airbrush

One of the immediately obvious advantages of this method

of letter stenciling is that there need be no connectors
left to hold centers in place.

Notice also that in the above stencil all the letters are the
same distance from the edge of the stencil.
This makes
possible sliding the stencil along the edge of a T square or
straight edge with the assurance that all the letters will
be perfectly in line.
It is advisable to use seperate pieces of stencil material
for the upper and lower case letters in order to maintain
this equal distance from the edge rather than to combine
them on the same piece as at the left above.
It is necessary
to cut this kind of stencil from transparent material, also,
so that you can judge the distance between letters.
Sheet
celluloid, because of its transparency, and because it will
stand repeated washings is about the most practical.

The amount of space left around each letter will be

determined by your control of the airbrush.

These two pages are a demonstration of illustrative photo retouching.

Tin
use of the airbrush can mean additional dollars in the till for photographers.
Only a portion of the negative was used in making this print.
The entire
negative shows a third person whose shoulder can be seen in the unretouched
version above.
The shoulder was removed by the simple expedient of darkening
the background.
In retouching faces of feminine subjects it is always safe

'play up' the eyes and hair.

It would hare been possible to have done much
more in retouching this photograph than is shown here, but it is advisable to
stop somewhat short of the limit.
Remember, retouching is the 'lost art',
if it is noticable, as such, it is not good.
In a job like this, if you've
done as much as you think you should, you've done too much prolably!

An examination of
these two photographs will reveal
some slight but important differences.

The building has

been made

lighter,

the sky darker.

The sign has been
removed from the curb
at the left, and a

shrub substituted
for the white truck

on the right.
Curtains have been
hung at the windows,
and the shadow cast
on the building by the trees made
These photographs used
with the permission of
Berth's Studio,
Ferndale, Mich.

lighter

This sort of retouching is very

easily accomplished with the airAs in portrait retouching,
do too little rather than too
much.
Make any area that is to
be radically changed considerably

brush.

lighter than you

think it should be,
then
bui Id it up'
'

with dark color.

The term 'dark

color* is used
rather than the
word 'black' because it is necessary to match
the color of the
photograph, most
of which are slightly

'off black'. Most

of this retouching was done freehand, that is,

without masking.
Masking was used
only in doing the
curtains, and for
the building when
the sky was dark-

ened.

^S332$k

Quite the most practical and beaut iful technique

of all is here demonstrated on the above features.
There is no substitute for a sound free-hand airbrush technique
other media can excel the pleasing effects achieved.

And no

Although requiring masking to accomplish, the basic exercises explained in

the reproduced Thayer & Chandler Catalog page in the beginning of the book
are the foundation for
good free-hand technique.
lou should, with plenty of practice, be able to handle your airbrush with
the same facility that you would use a sketching pencil.
The controlled
1 ine must be mastered to do the type of work shown above and on the pages
that follow.

Using diluted color and "building the tones" will give the best results.
faces are very good subject matter for practice. The eyes especially are
worthy of much experimentation. The character of a face is usually found
in the eyes. The mood, or "feeling of the moment" will be shown in the mouth*

That ever present knife is used to etch the catch lights in the eyes, and
don't fail to exploit the possibilities of regular erasers of various kinds
for snapping soft highlights here and there on a free hand Job.

In the original of the above reproduction the figure is rendered in the same
colors used for the sky, blending from warm yellow at the horizon to deep
blue gray at the top, thus the figure is even more 'lost' than in this reproduction. Since this figure is symbolical of the manpower necessary to
the building and flying of a large plane, this 'must be looked for' effect

is

desirable.

m
These reproductions convey little of the
we
executed free hand airpainting.
If
at it, if they are instrumental in causing
will have served the 'airbrush cause'
1

delicacy and appeal of an original

they inspire you to try your hand
you to 'burn the midnight oil' they
nobly.

You have to
No nne can hand you the ability to use that airbrush you own.
dig, and dig hard, but it's worth the effort.
When you are no longer concerned with the technical manipulation of the brush, and it becomes as it
were, a part of your hand, and when it obeys the intelligence behind it,
without rental haiards or reservations; in short, when your ability at
I'sing the airbrush is equal to your creativ* quantity as an artist, then,
and not until then, will you enjoy to the full the instrument about which this
hook h been written.

illustration the map is actually a piece of a road map

mounted into place and shaded with airbrush to carry out the
lighting effect.
In

this

vr*

>

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Connecticut

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